ABELIA x grandiflora 'Little Richard'

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General Description

If you are looking for a super cute dwarf glossy abelia then ‘Little Richard’ is your shrub. This bushy cultivar is less than half the size of standard types, and it’s just as vigorous.

Glossy abelia is a dense, rounded shrub with arching branches. It is primarily grown for its masses of long-lasting flowers but looks good year-round. This hybrid of Abelia chinensis and Abelia uniflora is evergreen in warmer climates and semi-evergreen further north.

Its small ovate leaves are glossy and dark green. In cold weather, the foliage develops attractive bronze hues. Many small clusters of flowers cover the branch tips throughout the growing season but are heaviest early on. The ivory blooms are small, tubular, and fragrant, and each is subtended by five pink sepals.

Abelia prefers sites with full to partial sun and acid to neutral, well-drained soil. It is surprisingly drought tolerant, especially when planted in partial sun, and takes well to pruning, though it has a beautiful natural habit. This popular landscape shrub has a neat appearance and works well in foundation plantings, mixed borders or mass plantings. It is deer resistant and its flowers attract bees and butterflies.